Happy Election Day?!

I was so confused when I saw "Election Day" on my calendar today. Why was I confused? Because election day was last Tuesday! Duh!

Then I logged onto facebook and saw numerous posts from my friends about election day including "I voted" stickers. Hooray for my friends exercising their civic right and responsibility by voting! But wait. I still thought election day was last Tuesday.

Thankfully I had another calendar item on today's agenda to help clear things up. Lunch with Lawmakers with Colorado State Representative Lois Court. During the Q&A portion of the lunch I asked her, "Why was election day last Tuesday for Colorado and this Tuesday for everywhere else?"

She answered, "TABOR", with a groan. I thought she was teasing me because we had spent the last several questions talking about the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) and how it is ruining Colorado. How could a bill about taxes be related to the timing of the election? I looked at her skeptically while she explained in addition to ruining Colorado, TABOR also has an added quirk for odd/off election years. Rather than following the "first Tuesday after the first Monday in November" standard, Colorado's election day is on the "first Tuesday in November of odd-numbered years."

I wonder if leaving out the "after the first Monday" was just an oversight as it will not come up again until the year 2033.